Another place I particularly appreciate in metropolitan London for its beauty and its history is the Tower of London, which, in spite of its name, is not a tower but a big palace.


Visitors to the Tower of London today will not find a solemn structure delegated to public functions or a sad prison for persons of high rank, as it was the case in the past.
Now the Tower of London is a crowded museum with countless numbers of visitors queuing neatly to visit the “House of the Crown Jewels”, a solid and ancient building which is part of the Tower complex, where highly precious jewellery used during the coronation of British monarchs is on display during the day and carefully guarded at night.


You may think that most of these objects date back to the 11th Century, since the first king to be crowned in England was William the Conqueror (in 1066), but these jewels were added gradually since the restoration of the monarchy, that is from 1661, when Charles II ascended to the throne.
I didn’t know all this history before visiting the place but I became very interested in learning more about the royal family after visiting Buckingham Palace so I decided to learn more and I think it is interesting for everyone. So I visited Westminster Abbey.  One of the most famous historic buildings in London and the most amazing church I have ever visited (and I’m originally from Italy!).
The Abbey is the most important place of worship of the capital after Saint Paul Cathedral.
It is the place where the coronations of the kings of England took place and there are also the tombs of very important people here.
Considered a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the Abbey was founded before Christ as a Benedictine monastery and it is here that William the Conqueror (Remember? We mentioned him earlier to be the first ruler of England) was crowned.
Inside the abbey you can visit the Chapel of St. George, now dedicated to the fallen of World War I, and it is here you can admire King Edward's Chair, the throne on which the sovereign sits on coronation day.
In more recent times Westminster Abbey was in the news because it is here that the funeral of Princess Diana and Mother Princess Margaret were held.
Hundreds of tombs are found here, including those of many rulers and their spouses, and also gravestones of important personalities that have marked the history of England are scattered all around such as the tombs of Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.
In Poets' Corner, there are funeral monuments in memory of some of the greatest British writers including Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austin and Oscar Wilde.
What impressed me about this church is that each tomb is so unique, a true work of art. The Abbey is not huge but the amount of tombstones and funeral monuments is overwhelming so you don’t know where to turn because you are literally submersed by history.
Although the entrance to the Abbey is not free of charge and the place is filled with tourists, I have seen Londoners come here to pay tribute to their royal dead.